Santa Cruz, California
by qpritchie1
Summary: Beach City Grill gets a new full-time employee alongside their other new employee; Piper. How does this change what goes on inside and out of the sandwich shop? Priestly/OMC with Slight AU. Please review!


**This movie is based off of the not-so-popular indie film titled, "Ten Inch Hero." Such a great film if you guys haven't seen it before.**

**It's slightly AU just in the fact that I changed Tish's sexuality...yeah, it made a difference lol**

**Anyway, this is an OC story, which stands for original character. Just gonna add one more character into the mix of things. I might butcher the movie since the characters were perfect, but this is just my unnecessary addition. Hope you like.**

"Get your lazy ass up! Get your lazy ass up! Get your lazy ass u-" My alarm was going off, seemingly louder than I was used to. I grabbed for my phone and quickly shut it off, fighting the urge to chuck it across the room in frustration after another sleepless night. Groaning rather loudly as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I sat up in bed and made my way to the other side of the room to go to the bathroom.

That's right. Across the _room_. This one bedroom shack of an "apartment" left me with minimal privacy, let alone personal space for my stuff. And by stuff, I mean a lumpy mattress, a slanted coffee table, and a purple beanbag chair.

After relieving myself and having to flush the toilet three times to get the water back to a normal color, I looked into my fridge to see if anything magically appeared in there while I was sleeping. Nope. Same thing as last night, and the night before that, and possibly the night before that; taco sauce packets, Miracle Whip, a half-full bottle of water, and an apple that used to be green but was now a pale chartreuse tint with a few wrinkles near the stem.

Fine...nothing else to eat. I grabbed the apple and bit into it with full gusto. _Huge_ mistake. There was no crunch...at all. Nope, can't eat this. I found myself gagging at it as I threw it into the trash bin. I went back inside the fridge for the water and drank what was left to wash, not the taste, but the memory of the "apple" from my taste buds.

Guess I'll have to see what I can do about a meal today. Time to go job hunting for the third week in a row. You would think Santa Cruz would have more jobs, but no. Barely anybody is willing to hire a high school dropout.

I got ready with the few clothes I had left that I hadn't already sold for a low amount of cash. It was just a cyan-colored v-neck with some black cargo shorts and a pair of plain white sneakers. No need to cover up under this California sun.

I ran over to the mirror and checked to see if I had any cow licks sticking out of nowhere from my burnt umber hair. As soon as I was in front of the dirty, water-spotted medicine cabinet, I was met with my muddy brown eyes but they quickly scattered their attention to my hair. Of course. A single cow lick on the side of my head.

I turned the rusted knobs on the sink for water to flow down, only to hear this loud groaning from the pipes underneath. Too scared to continue having the water run, I rotated the knob back. Guess we're not fixing my hair the normal way today.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

I walked down the street to the closest water fountain I knew of. It was right by this sandwich shop that I never went into but always wanted to try it as soon as I got the money to afford eating out. Anyway, I finally got to it and filled the bottle up, took a quick swig, and dumped some of it onto the side of my head with the hair sticking out. I saw my image in the reflection of the shop's window and proceeded to roughly pat down at the evidence of bedhead.

After a good minute or so, it was finally all the way down. I sighed contently to myself, satisfied that it was done and over with. Then, I took advantage of the nice, clear reflection and checked for anything else I might have missed in the smudged-up medicine cabinet. My eyes then focused on the inside of the sandwich shop. The workers were staring at me as well as the two customers inside.

I gave them an uneasy smile, while nervously scratching at the back of my head for an itch that wasn't there. I looked down to avoid any sort of eye contact with anybody inside when I saw the sign. "Help Wanted: Normal people need not apply."

Okay...well, I'll have no problem proving that I'm weird. I just treated their front window as a fuckin' vanity mirror, for Christ's sake. I picked the sign up and took it inside with me, walking into the shop. Making my way inside, the bells above the door chimed my presence. Like that was needed, as if nobody already knew I was here.

I walked up to the register where a young woman with short, blonder hair tucked behind her ears was staring at me, just like the rest of the shop. "Hi, umm..._not_ normal, you say?" I quirked my eyebrow for added emphasis, but it was as shaky as my smile at the moment.

"You're hired." teased the voluptuous girl with the long burgundy hair with a wash cloth lightly clutched in her hand. "No offense."

"None...taken...?" And I didn't take it offensively, either. I mean, I _did_ come in here acknowledging the fact that they want weird people. Obviously, I already know I'm a bit abnormal.

"Well, we do need somebody full-time. You _are_ looking for full-time, right?" a man from the other end of the shop asked. My guess was that he was the boss. He had greying brown hair with a rat tail coming around from the back and resting on his shoulder. Didn't matter what position he played here, though. I nodded my head enthusiastically before realizing how desperate I must have seemed. I cleared my throat and bashfully put my hands into my pockets.

"Well-groomed _and_ bipolar. Quite a catch we got here, Trucker." The girl with the wash cloth said, her mouth turned up in a slight smirk. Well, at least she was funny. The blonde girl, however, wasn't saying much of anything. She just sat behind her laptop and smiled every now and again.

"Tish, give him a chance. Wait...didn't we already hire that girl Piper, though?" Ah, the girl spoke. Wait...crap, the job's taken already? Okay, if I didn't look bipolar before, I definitely did now with my shoulders slumped and my eyes searching the floor.

"Damn it. I really thought I found a job." Yes, I spoke up about my need of work, but that was just the thesis statement to the long essay-length rant I was about to muster up. "Job means money. Money means necessities. Necessities mean food. Food means edible apples. And edible apples mean foo—damn, just a vicious circle. Let me try that again. Job means mo-"

"No need." Trucker stopped me, his hand motioning to stop with a light grin on his face. "And yes, Jen. We did hire Piper. But, she's only part-time. I need somebody who can work full shifts."

"I can _definitely_ do that." My smile grew wider with each word. Yes! I finally got a job. No more having to eat one meal a day out of pure luck.

"Guess that means you're hired." Tish announced as she walked behind the counter that both her and Jen were at. She looked me straight in the eyes as she made her way toward me. "Just don't flirt with me. I don't swing that way," she stated rather bluntly, a little twinkle in her eye. From the looks of it, it was partly from amusement and partly because she knew she was clever enough to test me. Little did she know, I had something to tell her, too.

"Funny. You're not exactly my type, either." I retorted nonchalantly, but on the inside, I was hoping that she wasn't joking and making it up, which would mean that I outed myself for no reason. All I got was a lopsided smirk from Jen and a chuckle from Tish before she felt she had to ask a little something more.

"Yeah, you'll be fine here...?"

"Oh, right. I'm Xavier, but everybody just calls me Xav." I looked over at my new boss to make sure he heard it, and he did. "Umm...so when do I start?" It was more out of curiosity than it was impatience, but at the same time, I _really_ wanted some food.

"Well, we can do paperwork today and have you start by tomorrow." Trucker informed me as he walked the short distance between us to the stool next to where I was standing. My smile faltered a bit, but I kept it from budging too noticeably. Crap, though. Means I have to see where I can get some spare change for at least a small bag of chips tonight.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

I walked up and down the streets after finishing up at the sandwich shop. I had to find a way to get some change. And that's when I heard it, in all of it's glory. The splashing water of the nearby fountain. Cha-ching.

Sure, I looked crazy picking out pennies, and the occasional silver coin, out of a fountain, but I was in desperate need of something to eat. The glares and uncomfortable glances I got were undeniably embarrassing, but I tried to be as discreet as possible.

By the time I was done, I had about $6. Yeah, I know! And it weighed down my cargo shorts like they were made of concrete. Let's see if some place is stupid enough to exchange this for some actual bills.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

The pasty redneck working the gas station wasn't too happy about all of the coins, but his manager was right behind him and didn't seem to mind. Thank God, too. Hey, maybe I can finally try a sandwich from my new workplace.

It took about ten minutes to find my way back to it. Beach City Grill, it was called. Although, I'm not sure why they call it that since the only thing they grill is the meat that goes on the sandwich, occasionally.

I walked in and, again, the bell chimed me in. Jen was still behind the counter, clacking away at the keys on her laptop as she smiled to herself. "Hey, Jen." I greeted the blonde with a friendly smile as my fingers curled onto the edge of the counter.

She responded with a similar smile, her face still glowing from whatever she was doing on the computer. "Hi, Xav. Did you forget something, or...?"

"Forge—Oh, no." I chuckled for no reason. Nothing was particularly funny when it came to me scrounging public domain for money. Wait...guy sifting through water in a fountain for chump change...okay, kind of funny. "Just hungry, and I thought that since I now work here, that I would ha-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...you work here now?" a man's voice came from behind Jen, somewhat surprised at my statement. Jen moved her head to look around and I met his gaze as he pointed his metal spatula in my direction. He had purple liberty spikes and a few piercings on his face. Not to mention the tribal tattoo that began at his neck and ended up peeking from under his yellow t-shirt. There was a slogan that read, "I was an Atheist until I realized I was God."

"Yeah, they just hired me today..." I informed him hesitantly, still kind of lost at how hazel his eyes were. "I'm-"

"Yeah. Xav; I heard." I extended my arm out to him, but he still looked at me questioningly. "Trucker!" he called out to the back room of the restaurant where my new boss emerged along with Tish, who just looked at the guy as if he were insane. From what I could tell, he kind of was, but for some reason, I liked it.

"What'd ya need, Priestly?" Trucker asked him as he sighed vocally at the commotion his employee was causing.

"You hired this guy?" Priestly asked him, still pointing the spatula at me. Trucker nodded in response, grinning only slightly. "Well, how come nobody told _me_?"

"Because you'd react like this." Tish pointed out before walking past him and sitting her apron down on one of the counters.

"Imagine what he would do if he knew Xav didn't even get the 'proper' interview." Jen said in a hushed tone to Tish, who only laughed along. They both knew they weren't quiet enough that Priestly wouldn't hear them. Nope, not by a long shot.

"Y-You didn't ge- He didn't get the interview?" Priestly looked accusingly at his boss as his hand dropped down in somewhat of a disappointed puppy dog look. Well, kind of. Only if the puppy dog had a mohawk, mutton chops, and a goatee. "Fine, I'll do it. Not enough that pretty boy here needs a job." Pretty boy? Not sure if I should be offended or giddy that he thinks I'm cute enough to even be considered a pretty boy.

"Pretty boy? Please. He's somewhat of a basket case." Tish added as she hopped up to sit atop the free counter space. "Of course, not as much as you."

"We can flirt later, Fire Crotch. Can't you see that I'm busy?" At that, I had to truly hold in a laugh, but I couldn't help my shoulders going up and down as I chuckled silently to myself. "Alright, first question, then. Elvis Presley: dead or alive?"

"Still eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches in Vegas and posing as a much older version of one of his impersonators." I answered as I leaned up against the front counter. Jen was looking back and forth between Priestly and I, laughing at the entire process.

"Good enough for me." Priestly went from a stern look to a friendly one in a matter of moments as he shrugged off his previous hostility.

"Wow, and you guys called _me _bipolar? Really?" I teased, half smirking at the man with the slogan t-shirt on.

"Oh, no. Priestly's not bipolar. He's more..." Jen tried explaining but couldn't find the right words to describe him. Hell, I could barely muster up a good description of him if I had to.

"Schizo?" Tish said, trying to fill in the blank for Jen but only causing the room to laugh. Well, most of us, anyway.

"The voices inside my head resent that." Priestly continued as he jokingly pointed at Tish with fake aggravation. This guy was funny, which only spelled doom for me. I always fall for the straight, funny guys...this will be fun...

"Oh, right. What'd you stop by for again, Xav?" Jen asked, reminding both of us that I did actually come here with intention of doing something other than oggling the cook.

"Hunger made me stop by and try something; anything." My mouth started salivating thinking about actually eating something other than Twinkies and old fruit.

"Nice. Not picky. Actually, that's rather familiar. Oh, yeah! Now I remember...Tish likes that about her women, too." And that's when Priestly got a swift kick to the ankle by the exuberant redhead. He groaned in pain, glaring daggers at the girl with the look of total accomplishment on her face. I found myself grinning at their banter and couldn't help but think about how comical this guy was and how I found it...well, I found it charming.

Yup, definitely trouble to like this guy.


End file.
